Liverpool, slavery and the Church

It is well known that Liverpool’s wealth and success as a port were built on the labour, suffering and deaths of enslaved Africans. In recent decades the city has sought to own its past and to apologise for its part in growing and benefiting from this “detestable system of oppression and cruelty.”Now it is time for churches of all denominations in Liverpool to investigate and acknowledge their part in the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans. Far from challenging slavery, churches were at the heart of perpetuating it through their structures, clergy, and finances. This book uncovers endowments made by slavers, memorials to prominent traders adorning church walls, and churches’ tacit acceptance of the transport, abuse and exploitation of fellow human beings. The entire institution of the Church of England and other denominations in Liverpool were bolstered by the slave economy from the early eighteenth century until at least the mid-nineteenth century, and arguably much later. We cannot change what happened two or three hundred years ago, but it is important that we understand the impact that slavery still has today. The legacy of slavery means that some institutions and individuals still benefit from the trade, whilst others remain disadvantaged. The first step in engaging with this legacy is to uncover the evidence, and that evidence is all around us.

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